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Chapter – 47
“I only realized belatedly that my adorable, lovely little sister is cute enough to destroy the world.”
“Cute…? Destroy the wor— ahem. So what the duke is saying is…”
“Yes. Asili is my sister. A Bolsheik. If there’s anyone who still doubts she’s a Bolsheik after seeing that vivid red hair and the same blue eyes as mine, perhaps they ought to get their eyes replaced, don’t you think?”
Though phrased as a question, Heidel’s answer was dripping with sarcasm. The emperor let out a booming laugh.
“All right, all right. Ever since the grand duke spoke up, there hasn’t been a single moment when the young lady wasn’t a Bolsheik.”
Even the pointed remark about having handed all rights of his house over to the grand duke didn’t faze Heidel. He only shrugged.
He had entrusted every right of his family to a complete outsider, yes—but that “outsider” was Ludwig, a man he trusted absolutely.
Trust came first, of course, but even if Ludwig did harbor ulterior motives, Heidel was confident no one could truly do anything to the Bolsheiks.
It wouldn’t matter who tried—the Bolsheiks could neither be shaken nor drained dry.
“Asili is my sister and a Bolsheik. If anyone dares flap their reckless mouth about it going forward, I imagine we’ll be treated to a rather entertaining spectacle.”
The blue eyes that had repeated themselves two, three times gleamed just as sharply as they had before sleep.
Seeing that, the emperor raised Asili’s value yet again.
A young lady who had appeared from nowhere—yet had managed to take the sides of both the grand duke and the Bolsheik duke.
Ludwig, who had no interest in people, and Heidel, who disliked people in general—she had occupied their side in an instant.
There was no way she could be dismissed lightly.
She could even become a convenient weakness to exploit.
Working through his sly calculations, the emperor turned toward Ludwig and spoke.
“Grand Duke.”
“Yes.”
“The reason I called you here as well is because of the second task of the Grand Duchess Selection.”
“The second task, Your Majesty?”
“That’s right. The first task was a complete failure. I went to all the trouble of gathering appropriate noble ladies, and though it’s a Grand Duchess Selection, I even subtly framed it as a secret Crown Princess Selection.”
Ludwig recalled the crown prince’s words after he’d stormed into the Garden of Mist.
Something about everyone being disappointing. Not a single one catching his eye.
“There was a single line in his report.”
The emperor let out a long, weary sigh and rubbed his aching temple.
“‘The Garden of Mist has revived.’ That’s all it said.”
At that, Ludwig’s eyebrow twitched for the first time.
But the emperor, too absorbed in his own frustration, continued sighing without noticing Ludwig’s reaction.
“What was he even looking at? Those noble ladies put in such effort to produce those results, and that’s all he has to say? The Garden of Mist… honestly, how long does he intend to pine after the late empress? Good grief.”
Fortunately for Asili, the emperor did not connect the crown prince’s mention of the Garden of Mist to her at all.
And it made sense.
Even the crown prince himself hadn’t realized the fleeting stir in his eyes when they passed over Asili.
If the crown prince were to recognize what emotion he was feeling… then afterwards…
Ludwig’s pale sky-blue eyes sank into pure black.
“Since I never expected this to go smoothly from the start, we should proceed to the second task.”
The emperor had barely finished speaking when Heidel—who had been quietly listening—cut in.
“The second task of the Grand Duchess Selection? What do you mean? She’s to be the Grand Duchess, yet you call it the Crown Princess selection?”
Heidel sounded as if hearing this for the first time. The emperor turned to Ludwig.
“You didn’t tell him?”
“He never asked.”
“Well… I suppose.”
The emperor shook his head with a what else did I expect expression—then froze.
“Duke, you are standing far too close.”
“What do you mean by a Crown Princess selection under the guise of a Grand Duchess Selection?”
The blue eyes that had remained impassively calm until now suddenly turned arctic cold.
Faced with that stare, the emperor’s previously relaxed expression vanished as well.
A chilling silence pricked the skin as it settled between the two men.
Ludwig, unaffected, spoke first.
“In name, it is for the Grand Duchess—but in truth, it is a selection for the Crown Princess.”
Heidel’s lips twisted sharply.
“So His Majesty intends to choose the prince’s match? Personally?”
The disbelief was so strong it might have made even a passing monkey scoff.
“Ah yes, he did proclaim he’d keep by his side only the woman who made his heart race.”
The emperor pressed his temple again, groaning.
Any mention of the crown prince gave him a headache.
“So I thought I’d choose only the young ladies capable of making his heart race and keep them near him.”
When no sharp retort followed, the emperor found it strange.
“Duke?”
“You said it was the second task?”
“Yes.”
“And currently, this is all being done under the pretense of choosing his wife.”
“Correct.”
Heidel let out an icy, derisive laugh.
“And what gives you such certainty that the woman standing beside that fool—the future Crown Princess—won’t make his heart race?”
Silence.
The emperor blinked, mouth open. Ludwig simply stared at him with a dry, desiccated gaze.
Suddenly, Asili’s voice echoed in Ludwig’s mind.
Right after the first task—the garden.
‘He looked like he was jealous because I chose you instead of him… If someone were to give him just the slightest push from behind, I think he’d fall in love immediately.’
If someone were to push the prince just a little…
Ludwig’s gaze fell on the emperor, who looked genuinely unsettled.
But it lasted only a moment.
Then the emperor hardened and declared sternly:
“Even if the crown prince claims she makes his heart race, I will never permit it.”
“Your Majesty.”
Ludwig stared at him with eyes stripped of all warmth.
“Surely… you do not believe that if Your Majesty forbids it, the crown prince will obediently give up.”
The emperor clamped his mouth shut—struck squarely at his weak spot.
Ludwig spoke, voice as dry as drifting sand.
“If the crown prince were the type to listen whenever Your Majesty ordered him left or right, then from the beginning, you would never have had to disguise a Crown Princess selection as a Grand Duchess selection.”
“Well… there is that.”
“If the crown prince reaches out to Asili saying she makes his heart race…”
Ludwig smiled.
But it was a smile so feral, so sharp, that even fine hairs would stand on end.
He didn’t need to say the rest.
The emperor’s face stiffened; Heidel’s lips curled upward.
Silence frosted over the room.
Then, after some time—
With the same expression he’d worn upon entering, Ludwig delivered an earth-shaking declaration.
“I will marry her.”
“Approved!”
“What?!”
Heidel and the emperor gave utterly opposite replies at the same time.
“I said I will marry her.”
“Grand Duke!”
“I told you already. There is only one woman who can be the Grand Duchess.”
His voice was firm, immovable.
“Your Majesty said you would never accept her as Crown Princess, so there should be no issue.”
He sounded almost sarcastic, yet his unblinking eyes made it hard to tell whether it truly was sarcasm.
“Oh, that’s right. You did say so, Your Majesty. That my sister would never become the Crown Princess.”
This time, Heidel’s tone was undeniably mocking.
The declaration had come out of nowhere, but the emperor’s speechlessness wasn’t due to the suddenness.
“He’s shocked you didn’t obey His Majesty’s wishes,” Heidel said.
“Perhaps His Majesty fainted with his eyes open.”
“Heidel.”
At Ludwig’s warning, Heidel grinned, raised his hands in surrender, and stepped back.
Then Ludwig faced the emperor and nailed the final blow.
“Naturally, that means the second task of the Grand Duchess Selection no longer exists.”
“Wait, Grand Duke! I understand how you feel, but there’s no need to rush—”
“And the wedding will be held within three days. I will take care of all preparations. Your Majesty need only bestow your blessing. I shall take my leave.”
Three days.
He said three days.
For the Caliente Grand Duchy, holding a wedding in three hours wouldn’t be impossible.
Everyone had eagerly awaited this marriage anyway.
And with the bride being a Bolsheik, what couldn’t they accomplish?
The emperor watched Ludwig and Heidel turn and leave without waiting for permission, then sank deep into thought.
Ludwig was right.
Even if the Bolsheik head acknowledged her, he couldn’t simply accept a girl who had appeared from nowhere as true Bolsheik blood.
And even if she truly was… he had no knowledge of her past.
There was no way she could be considered suitable as Crown Princess.
“In a way, this may be for the best.”
The emperor leaned against his throne and sighed.
If the unpredictable crown prince really did want the Bolsheik young lady, as Ludwig suggested…
He shook his head.
“I suppose I’ll need to prepare a very strong blessing.”
What the emperor did not know—and in truth, what no one knew—
Was what the crown prince, who had discovered love for the first time in his life, would be capable of doing once blinded by it.
Not even the crown prince himself…
